Edison and the Electric Chair: a Story of Light and Death.MARK ESSIG Thomas Edison is celebrated for inventing the phonograph phonograph: see record player. phonograph or record player Instrument for reproducing sounds. A phonograph record stores a copy of sound waves as a series of undulations in a wavy groove inscribed on its rotating surface by the and the lightbulb, not to mention electrifying e·lec·tri·fy tr.v. e·lec·tri·fied, e·lec·tri·fy·ing, e·lec·tri·fies 1. To produce electric charge on or in (a conductor). 2. a. major North American North American named after North America. North American blastomycosis see North American blastomycosis. North American cattle tick see boophilusannulatus. cities. Essig explores one of Edison's lesser-known inventions--the electric chair--and how Edison's intentions may have been less noble than trying to find a more humane way to put peopie to death. Although EdiSOn was a staunch opponent of capital punishment capital punishment, imposition of a penalty of death by the state. History Capital punishment was widely applied in ancient times; it can be found (c.1750 B.C.) in the Code of Hammurabi. , he put a lot of effort into perfecting the electric chair and convincing politicians of its advantages over the noose, the guillotine guillotine Instrument for inflicting capital punishment by decapitation. A minimal wooden structure, it supported a heavy blade that, when released, slid down in vertical guides to sever the victim's head. , or lethal drugs. At the time, George Westinghouse was selling residents of Manhattan alternating current electricity as a cheaper alternative to Edison's direct current power. In response, EdisOn tried to prove that his system was safer than Westinghouse's and pointed out that the electric chair worked only with alternating current. Thus, Edison intimated that DC was safer than AC for home use. Essig makes this morbid tale a compelling one. walker, 2003, 358 p., b&w photos/illus., hardcover, $26.00. |
|
||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion